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HOW AMERICANS VIEW THE TRUMP TARIFF POLICIES
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Jocelyn Kiley , Gabriel Borelli , Joseph Copeland and Shanay Gracia
August 14, 2025
Pew Research Center
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_ Trump’s Tariffs and ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Face More
Opposition Than Support as His Job Rating Slips _
, Pew Research Center
Over the past several months, the Trump administration has implemented
key aspects of its economic policies by raising tariffs on nearly all
U.S. trading partners and winning final congressional passage of its
sweeping tax and budget bill, officially titled the “One Big
Beautiful Bill Act.”
The public’s views on these policies remain more negative than
positive.
A 61% majority of Americans disapprove of the Trump administration
increasing tariffs on goods imported from most countries that trade
with the United States, while 38% approve. These views are largely
unchanged since April, shortly after Trump unveiled his far-reaching
tariffs policy
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_Note_: _This survey was in the field on Aug. 7, when the Trump
administration imposed higher import taxes __on scores of countries_
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including tariffs as high as 50% for some countries. _
By a wide margin, Republicans approve of the administration’s tariff
and trade policies while Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove:
* 68% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents approve of
the increased tariffs.
* 89% of Democrats and Democratic leaners disapprove.
Americans continue to express more negative than positive views of the
GOP’s tax and budget legislation, which Trump signed into law on
July 4. Only about a third (32%) approve of the legislation, while 46%
disapprove. And by wide margins, more say the long-term effects of the
legislation will be negative rather than positive.
View of Trump’s handling of the economy also remain negative. A 55%
majority say they are _not too _confident or _not at all_ confident in
Trump’s ability to make good decisions on economic policy
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which is virtually unchanged from April.
How will the Trump administration’s tariff policies impact the
country and Americans personally?
Majorities of Americans say the long-term effects of the
administration’s tariff policies will be mostly negative for the
country (55%) and for themselves and their families (also 55%).
[Chart shows Majorities of Americans say Trump’s tariff policies
will have mostly negative effects in the long run]
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While there are partisan differences in these views, Republicans
express mixed views of the impacts of the tariffs, while Democrats are
largely negative.
The country as a whole
More than twice as many Americans say the tariffs will have mostly
negative effects on the country in coming years (55%) as say the
effects will be mostly positive (26%). About one-in-five (19%) expect
the effects will be about equally positive and negative.
About half of Republicans and GOP leaners (52%) anticipate that the
tariffs will benefit the country in the long term, while 27% see mixed
positive and negative effects; 21% expect the tariffs to negatively
affect the country in coming years.
By comparison, nearly nine-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners
(87%) say the tariffs will have negative effects on the country in
coming years. _ _
Americans and their families
When asked about the effect of such policies on them and their
families, overall views are similar: 55% of adults say they expect the
personal impact to be mostly negative in coming years, while 21% say
it will be mostly positive. Roughly a quarter say the effect will be
about equally positive and negative.
Notably, Republicans are less likely to say the tariffs will have
mostly positive effects on themselves and their families (40%) than on
the country (52%) in the coming years. They are somewhat more likely
to say the personal impact will be mixed (35%, compared with 27% who
say this about the country).
Democrats, by contrast, are nearly as skeptical of the long-term
personal impact of the tariffs (84% say it will be mostly negative) as
they are of their effect on the country (87%).
More Americans disapprove than approve of GOP’s tax and budget law
Just over a month since being passed into law, the GOP’s “One Big
Beautiful Bill” continues to be viewed more negatively than
positively: 46% of Americans disapprove of the law, while 32% approve.
Another 23% are not sure.
[Chart shows About a third of Americans approve of GOP’s tax and<br
/> budget bill, while nearly half disapprove]
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These views have changed little since June
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prior to the passing of the bill by the Senate, when 49% of adults
said they opposed the budget and tax bill proposed by Trump and
Republicans in Congress and 29% favored it.
There continue to be wide partisan differences in views of the
legislation:
* Six-in-ten Republicans say they approve of the budget and tax law,
while 17% disapprove and 23% are not sure.
* Democrats disapprove of the law by an overwhelming margin (75% to
6%), with 18% not sure.
Democratic opposition to the law is far more intense than Republican
support for it. While 61% of Democrats strongly disapprove of the
measure, just 21% of Republicans strongly approve.
Overall, far more Americans say the tax and budget law will have
mostly negative effects than mostly positive effects.
[Chart shows About half of Republicans see long-term benefits from the
GOP’s tax and budget bill; far more Democrats say it will have
negative impacts] [[link removed]]
Nearly half (47%) say the law will have a mostly negative effect on
the country in coming years, while 25% expect mostly positive effects.
About a quarter (26%) say the results will be mixed.
Views are fairly similar regarding the law’s personal impact.
As with overall opinions about the law, negative opinions about the
effects of the law among Democrats far surpass positive views among
Republicans.
About eight-in-ten Democrats (78%) say the law’s effect on the
country over the coming years will be mostly negative. A smaller share
of Republicans (48%) say it will have _a mostly positive_ impact.
Partisans are similarly divided when it comes to the effect of the
budget and tax law on them and their families: Seven-in-ten Democrats
say the impact of the law will be _mostly negative_ on them and their
families, and 46% of Republicans say it will be mostly positive.
This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis
of the following individuals:
Research team
Jocelyn Kiley, _Director, Political Research_
Steven Shepard, _Associate Director, Political Research_
Hannah Hartig, _Senior Researcher_
Baxter Oliphant, _Senior Researcher_
Gabe Borelli, _Research Associate_
Andrew Daniller, _Research Associate_
Andy Cerda, _Research Analyst_
Joseph Copeland, _Research Analyst_
Shanay Gracia,_ Research Analyst_
Ted Van Green, _Research Analyst_
Rolando Ortega, _Intern_
Communications and editorial
Nida Asheer, _Senior Communications Manager_
Mithila Samak, _Communications Associate_
David Kent, _Senior Editorial Specialist_
Anna Jackson, _Editorial Specialist_
Rebecca Leppert, _Editorial Specialist_
Mia Hennen, _Editorial Assistant_
Graphic design and web publishing
Peter Bell, _Associate Director, Design and Production_
Alissa Scheller, _Senior Information Graphics Designer_
Reem Nadeem, _Digital Producer_
Methodology
Andrew Mercer, _Senior Research Methodologist_
Dorene Asare-Marfo, _Senior Panel Manager_
Dana Popky, _Associate Panel Manager_
Arnold Lau_, Research Methodologist_
In addition, former Director of Political Research Carroll Doherty
contributed as an editor on this report.
* Big Beautiful Bill
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* Trump tariffs
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